Preparation of sintered foam materials by alkali-activated coal fly ash

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 174; no. 1; pp. 108 - 112
• Main Authors: Zhao, Yelong, Ye, Junwei, Lu, Xiaobin, Liu, Mangang, Lin, Yuan, Gong, Weitao, Ning, Guiling
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier B.V 15-02-2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Alkali-activation; Applied sciences; Carbon; Coal; Coal Ash; Coal fly ash; Exact sciences and technology; Foam materials; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Particulate Matter; Pollution; Water-absorbing; X-Ray Diffraction; Coal fly ash; Water-absorbing; Foam materials; Alkali-activation; Activation; Raw materials; Compressive strength; Foaming agent; Density; Fly ash; Foam; Brick; Preparation; Coal; Production; Water absorption; Microstructure; Ceramic materials
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.09.023

Coal fly ash from coal fired power stations is a potential raw material for the production of ceramic tiles, bricks and blocks. Previous works have demonstrated that coal fly ash consists mainly of glassy spheres that are relatively resistant to reaction. An objective of this research was to investigate the effect of alkali on the preparation process of the foam material. Moreover, the influence of foam dosage on the water absorption, apparent density and compressive strength was evaluated. The experimental results showed that homogenous microstructures of interconnected pores could be obtained by adding 13
wt.% foaming agent at 1050
°C, leading to foams presenting water absorption, apparent density and compressive strength values of about 126.5%, 0.414
g/cm
3, 6.76
MPa, respectively.